Welcome to the first part of our "Understanding the chain" series! We want to give you advice, relevant information and answer your questions to boost your business. This is a guide that will not only answer the question of where to sell fruits and vegetables, but also give you tips to boost your business in this industry.
In recent years, the production of fruits and vegetables has remained stable with an average of 1,837 million tons, this means that the demand continues to be high and that meeting the population's requirements is a necessity. In addition, selling fruits and vegetables opens up the possibilities of reaching a considerably wide audience, since it is a sector that supplies one of the basic needs of human beings: eating.
Running your business properly can bring you loyal customers and higher profits. First, let's understand that the production of fruits and vegetables is just the beginning of the chain and that everything that arises from that moment will define your next sales, but why? The quality of the product, its presentation and your way of communicating will be essential factors for what is to come and to answer the great question of where to sell fruits and vegetables.
Before deciding where to sell your fruits and vegetables, we want to give you tips that will help you keep the commercial part of your business under control or improve your current processes.
1. Everything enters through the eyes
Have you heard the phrase “everything enters through the eyes”? it's true, it's called the "Halo effect" and it was studied by psychologist Edward Thorndike. The concept suggests that certain physical characteristics push our brain to conceive a positive or negative idea of something or someone.
You may wonder why am I telling you this? Because it also applies to the fruits and vegetables industry. When it comes to marketing your products you must do it properly, giving them the greatest prominence and exhibiting them in a way that all their attributes stand out and whet the appetite. This applies to both an online and physical context, since if you are looking to sell fruits and vegetables online, you should do it with the photographs that most highlight their attributes.
2. Communication and organization
It can be difficult to have all of your clients in the same place or at least communicate with them through the same medium, but it is a worthwhile effort. By having centralized information you can avoid common mistakes such as forgetting orders, mixing-up customers or negotiated prices, in addition it gives you a global view of the information flows without getting lost in the details. This will help the fluidity of sales processes and customer loyalty.
3. Attitude and networking
There is no magic formula to sell more, but having a good attitude will help you better relate to your clients or future clients. On the other hand, networking is a practice that seeks to expand your network of contacts. You can do it by attending fairs, congresses, events or prospecting through social networks, this will help you increase your sales and loyal customers. In addition, if you combine it with good products, proactivity, organization and attitude, the growth of your business will have no limits.
Consentio is a platform that allows you to promote the commercial part, communications and internal and external control of your fruit and vegetable business.
1. Create your online catalog of fruits and vegetables
On Consentio you can create your catalog to share it outside and inside the app, without limitations! This allows you to reach your customers more easily. In addition, this catalog has the option to appear without prices, only you decide who can access them!
2. Everything in one place
Organization will be your best ally, saving you time and money. Would you like to know how? On Consentio you have all the information displayed in dashboards, you can also chat with your clients, and in case they do not use Consentio yet, do not worry, you can invite them. You can also load previous orders regardless of the format they are in, group different orders, add logistics details such as delivery dates and we also integrate with your ERP.
3. Saving time and money
Your time translates into potential sales, and we want you to invest it wisely. Mechanical tasks that take hours, you can do them in minutes on Consentio. Regardless of the format in which you work, you can upload your orders without having to enter them one by one and you can get a general and detailed view of your transactions. In addition, the positive impact on your team will be reflected in no time by the ease of delegating deals within the application.
There is no single answer to this question, it will always depend on the scale to which you want to take your business and where you are in the chain. We give you the options to find the one that suits you best:
1. Sell fruits and vegetables to resellers or cooperatives
In this case, as a producer, you sell all of your products to companies that package and market the product, they can be private companies or cooperatives if you are associated with one.
2. Sell fruits and vegetables to wholesalers or retailers
This option works when your product is already classified and packaged, depending on the logistical capacity and the volume you have, you can choose who to distribute to.
3. Sell fruits and vegetables to supermarkets
Supermarkets are considered to be a particular class of retailers and just as there are large supermarket chains there are some much smaller ones. In which supermarket to sell will depend on your production capacity, your product and the way you work. In addition, there are large chains that buy locally or look for km0 products, you can also make a decision based on this.
4. Export fruits and vegetables
You can also export, selling both to wholesalers and to distributors or supermarkets. Find out about the necessary quality certificates, everything will depend on the country to which you export your products to.
5. Sell fruits and vegetables to HORECA and communities
Another sector that also buys fruit and vegetables is HORECA. This is a distribution channel aimed at selling directly to hotels and restaurants of all kinds such as schools, homes for the elderly, coffee shops, among others. One of the peculiarities of selling to these clients is the management of the large volume of orders, their variety, different schedules and logistics.
The best advice to sell fruits and vegetables is to optimize the management of your business to the maximum, as this will help you grow and be scalable. We hope you've enjoyed this blog and that our tips help you take your sales to a new level.